THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 31, 1996 TAG: 9608310422
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: 71 lines
This one's so big, it breaks four world records.
Officials at Busch Gardens on Friday unveiled plans for ``Alpengeist,'' the theme park's fifth - and largest - roller coaster. The ride is scheduled to open next spring.
The steel roller coaster, whose name translates from German to ``Alpine Spirit,'' will be the tallest and the fastest inverted roller coaster ever created, standing 195 feet at its highest point and reaching speeds of 67 mph.
Alpengeist also will have the largest vertical loop of any inverted coaster, 106 feet at its high point, and the largest drop at 170 feet. For thrill-seekers: That drop calculates at nearly 17 stories.
Inverted roller coasters have seats that hang from the coaster track, sliding beneath it rather than riding above it. In this case, riders will sit on a benchlike seat with their legs swinging free.
``There will be a much more free feeling than with our other coasters,'' said Larry Giles, vice president of design and engineering for the park.
This, keep in mind, as you're dropping 17 stories and negotiating moves such as a diving loop called the ``Immelman,'' named after a World War I German fighter pilot. ``We wanted to create an attraction that will meet the high-tech expectations of our guests,'' said Keith Kasen, Busch Gardens' executive vice president and general manager. ``The result is without equal.''
Busch Gardens' largest current roller coaster, DrachenFire, stands 150 feet at its highest point. The Loch Ness Monster is 130 feet high, and the Big Bad Wolf measures in at 110 feet.
The theme of the Alpengeist is a ski trip turned bad. As a park press release reads, ``six staggering inversions turn an innocent ski lift into an avalanche of horror.''
The ``bench'' seating is designed to resemble and feel like a ski lift. The track will be white, like snow, and the light gray cars will have hubcaps painted to look like flying snow.
In addition to the ``Immelman,'' here are the inversions to expect during the three-minute, 10-second ride:
The Zero-G-Roll: As in zero gravity. A 360-degree roll which gives the rider a sensation of weightlessness.
The Flat Spin: ``Similar to flipping a pancake.'' You'll have to ride to find out exactly what that means.
The Cobra Roll: A ``boomerang-style'' inversion at 58 mph.
The High-Speed Spiral: A horizontal loop.
A 106-foot vertical loop, half-buried in an isolated ravine.
The ride will be located in the park's Rhinefield Hamlet, near the bridge to the New France section. Busch Gardens officials would not release its expected construction cost.
The Alpengeist will be the park's second new roller coaster in two years. The Olympic-themed, 46-foot-high Wild IZZY opened last March.
The ride will be built in the deepest ravine in the park, with much of it hidden by trees. Park experts have worked on state-of-the-art devices to keep noise to a minimum, including switching from nylon wheels to quieter polyurethane ones and pointing the major drop away from residential neighborhoods in Kingsmill, Giles said. ILLUSTRATION: THE HIGHLIGHTS
The ``Alpengeist'' is expected to open in the spring of 1997. Some
facts about the ride, now under construction:
Height: 195 feet
Speed: 67 mph
Track length: 3,828 feet
Maximum drop: 170 feet
Ride time: Three minutes, 10 seconds
Ride capacity: 1,820 passengers per hour
Cars: Three trains of eight cars each. One car accommodates four
passengers across, for a total of 32 passengers per train. by CNB